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In today's news from The Capitals :
BERLIN
The German government has denied media reports that it has initiated a special clause in EU legislation to tighten border controls and deny refugees entry. Read more.
German intelligence backs off AfD 'extremist' label. German intelligence has suspended its previous decision to classify the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as “right-wing extremist”. Read more.
WESTERN EUROPE
BRUSSELS
EXCLUSIVE: Belgium promotes 'coalition of the willing' to preserve frozen Russian assets. With no guarantee that EU sanctions will be renewed this summer, Belgium's new foreign minister says his country is ready to help form an international coalition to preserve frozen Russian assets. Read more.
UK AND IRELAND
Britain has struck a deal to sidestep some Trump tariffs. Britain has struck a tentative agreement with the US to ease some car tariffs and boost the beef trade, while avoiding concessions on food standards that could derail its reset with the EU. Read more.
NORTHERN COUNTRIES AND THE BALTIC
OSLO
Norway, spooked by Trump, seeks closer cooperation on European defense. Norway plans to expand strategic cooperation with the Europeans to prepare the country for the risk of “crisis” and “war”, according to Norway's first-ever national security strategy. Read more.
SOUTH OF EUROPE
ROME | VATICAN
The Catholic Church has chosen Robert Francis Prevost as the new pope. It took just over an hour for the new pope's name to be announced after white smoke rose from a specially installed chimney on the roof of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel, signaling his election. Read more.
From his first appearance on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo XIV gave three key clues about his leadership style. His traditional choice of name, the emphasis on peace in his non-English language address, and the decision to wear red papal robes all signaled a papacy rooted in custom and a global, non-Western focus.
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MADRID
Spain counters US tariffs with €7.7bn aid package Spain's Congress on Thursday approved a €7.7bn decree aimed at shielding the country from the economic impact of US tariffs, part of a wider €14.1bn aid package to protect affected sectors.
The measure passed with 176 votes in favor and 169 against, enough for a simple majority.
The royal decree, which was presented by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government as an “urgent” response to US tariffs, was passed in a last-minute vote by the pro-Catalan independence party Junts after reportedly negotiations that 25% of the aid package would go to Catalonia, public broadcaster RTVE reported.
While the right-wing People's Party, the Popular Union of Navarra and the far-right Vox party voted against the decree, Podemos, Sánchez's far-left junior partner in the government, abstained.
Her abstention came after the government refused to include a proposal by party secretary general Ione Belarra to expropriate homes owned by what she called “hawkish US investment funds.” Belarra said Podemos would not support a Socialist-led coalition unless housing reform was carried out.
Although the Spanish constitution allows for the use of royal decrees only in cases of “extraordinary and urgent necessity,” Sánchez’s government has increasingly relied on them to circumvent gridlock in an increasingly fragmented Congress. Passing a bill through the standard route requires an absolute majority of 176 of the 350 seats, a threshold the coalition often struggles to reach.
(Ines Fernandez-Pontes | Euractiv)
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LISBON
Domestic output fell 15% on day of power outage – Bank of Portugal. The power outage that hit Portugal on April 28 caused economic activity to fall by about 15%, according to a daily indicator published by the Bank of Portugal (BdP) on Thursday.
According to a note accompanying the Daily Economic Activity Indicator (DEI), the week ending May 4 saw a “lower annual rate of change in activity than the previous week, reflecting in particular a drop of about 15% on the day of the power outage.”
This indicator combines high-frequency data related to economic activity in Portugal, such as the volume of heavy commercial traffic on motorways, electricity and natural gas consumption, the volume of freight and mail unloaded at national airports, and card purchases made in Portugal by residents and non-residents.
Activity as measured by these indicators fell by 14.8% on the day of the blackout, according to the Bdp. On April 28, a major power outage left mainland Portugal, Spain and Andorra, as well as parts of France, virtually without power. Airport closures, traffic and road congestion in major cities and fuel shortages were some of the consequences of the blackout.
The European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity announced the creation of a committee to investigate the causes of the outage, which it described as “exceptional and serious” and which left Portugal and Spain in the dark.
(Mariana Espiritu Santos | Lusa.pt)
EAST EUROPE
WARSAW
The papal vote has had an impact on Poland's faith-driven presidential race. The Vatican has elected its first American pope, Leo XIV, just as Poland, one of Europe's most devoutly Catholic countries, enters the final stages of a presidential race dominated by religion and church-state tensions. Read more.
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PRAGUE
Czech MEP to travel to Moscow, draws criticism for 'morally repugnant' trip Czech MEP Ondřej Dostal (independent) is travelling to Moscow on Friday (9 May) to mark the end of World War II, a decision that has drawn sharp criticism from fellow lawmakers. Speaking at a debate in the European Parliament on Thursday (8 May), Dostal said he would lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier but would not attend the military parade.
“Unfortunately, we forget those who sacrificed the most,” Dostal told his fellow MEPs. “I am ashamed of my colleagues who claim that Czechoslovakia was liberated only by the Americans (…) I am ashamed of my government, which does not honour the memory of the fallen Soviet soldiers, and I am glad that (Slovak) Prime Minister Robert Fico will do so on behalf of the former Czechoslovakia,” he said.
He also explained that he acted out of personal conviction and the will of voters “who still remember the horrors of Nazism.” However, his trip was sharply criticized by Czech MEP Danuše Nerudová (STAN, EPP). “The trip of a communist MEP to Moscow is shameful and morally disgusting. His visit serves only as a propaganda gift to the Putin regime,” she said.
Although the Red Army played a role in liberating parts of Czechoslovakia from Nazi occupation in 1945, the country quickly fell under Soviet influence and remained behind the Iron Curtain until the fall of communism in 1989.
Dostal confirmed to the Czech News Agency that he plans to travel with MEPs from Germany, Slovakia and Cyprus, although he acknowledged that the trip could be complicated by travel issues.
He added that the 80th anniversary “could open the door to peace, diplomacy and a solution to the current conflict” between Russia and Ukraine.
(Aneta Zahova | Euractiv.cz)
NEWS FROM THE BALKANS
SOFIA
Bulgarian parliament blocks prosecution of pro-Russian MPs over vandalism of EU institutions in Sofia. Bulgaria's parliament, backed by the centre-right GERB party (EPP), on Thursday blocked the continuation of a criminal investigation into four MPs from the pro-Russian nationalist Revival party. The MPs are suspected of involvement in vandalism of the EU office in Sofia during a February 22 protest against the country's bid to join the eurozone.
On Thursday, parliament refused to consider the prosecutor general's requests to lift parliamentary immunity for four lawmakers. The vote was postponed indefinitely, effectively stalling the investigation. The prosecution is asking for pretrial detention for two of the lawmakers, citing evidence linking them to an attempt to break into and set fire to an EU building in the Bulgarian capital.
The latest attempt to strip the MPs of their immunity failed after decisive support from GERB, led by former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. At Vozrazhdane's request, the vote was removed from the parliamentary agenda. The proposal received 120 votes in favor, including from GERB-SDS, Vozrazhdane, the populist Greatness party, and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), one of whose factions itself defends the immunity of two of its MPs.
The Vazrazhdane party, which recently signed a cooperation agreement with Vladimir Putin's United Russia party, has openly declared its intention to protect its members from persecution.
(Krassen Nikolov | Euractiv.bg)
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BUCHAREST
Romanian currency hits record low amid political turmoil. Romania's national currency has fallen to a record low, with the euro trading at 5.1222 lei, according to the National Bank of Romania (BNR), down 0.45% from its previous rate of 5.0991 lei. Read more.
AGENDAS:
- EU : Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, together with European Council President Antonio Costa, Parliament President Roberta Metsola and Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden, visit the Schuman House to mark the 75th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration;
- Commission Chair Ursula von der Leyen meets with Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Friedrich Merz;
- Commission Vice-President Henna Virkkunen delivers a speech at the Bank of Finland and Bruegel Europe Day conference on “Green, digital and sustainable growth”;
- Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christoph Hansen presents the Agriculture and Food Visit at the European Congress on Rural Renewal and Development;
- Enlargement Commissioner Marta Cos meets with Moldovan President Maia Sandu; signs the Reform and Growth Plan for Moldova;
- Parliament's Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee discusses the State of the Schengen Area 2025 report and more;
- Parliament's Environment, Climate and Food Safety Committee discusses the Common Agricultural Policy after 2027 and more;
- The Foreign Affairs Committee and the Budget Committee of the Parliament are holding a joint meeting on the issue of the Reform and Growth Fund for the Western Balkans.
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[Edited by Vas Panagiotopoulos, Charles Shumsky, Daniel Ek, Sofia Mandilar]
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